3 December 2011

Possible changes to the fiscal regime in Euro zone countries mean that
one of the most important democratic rights - the decision over taxes
and government spending - would be taken from national electorates and
vested in a supranational bureaucracy only vaguely accountable to the
citizens. Even worse - some even go so far as to give the EU Courts the
final say. This would mean that technocrats that owe their primary
allegiance to murky backroom deals between political parties in their
home country would be able to issue diktats to the citizens of states
that do no toe the line. Initial calls for a referendum to sanction the
transfer of power to the EU and its acolytes are - not surprisingly -
already being stonewalled by the political establishment. This
demonstrates the urgent need to take the decision about whether or not
to hold a referendum on any legislation out of the hand of the political
machines running our lives at present.